Fairytale, The Ham Kingdom
by Hideki LaShae
Summary: Is it a dream? Is it reality? Is it a movie? What does the Ham Kingdom have to do with several seemingly ordinary children? Is magic real? Is love true? Laura and friends just might find out.


**Fairytale, **

**The Ham Kingdom**

**By**

**Hideki LaShae**

**_Just remember you are not alone  
_****_So don't you fear  
_****_Even though you're miles away  
_****_I'm by your side  
_****_So open up your mind and close your eyes_** **_I'll be there for you no matter where you are…_**

**_Open Up Your Mind_**

**_– Gensoumaden Saiyuki_**

A Hamtaro fan fiction

(Dream)

"I am Princess Laura of the Ham-Kingdom!" Laura curtseys in her pink ball gown. "You have done a great service to the Ham-Kingdom, brave young warrior! What is your name?"

"Heke! I'm Hamtaro, Princess Laura!" exclaims the cute little hamster bowing to the young girl, "It's all in a day's work for a ham-warrior like me! If you ever need help again, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Oh, thank you, Hamtaro!" exclaims Laura.

(OoooO)

Laura wakes up from her dream. She sits up quickly and looks at her alarm clock. "Oh, no! I slept in again! Kana's going to be here any minute!"

Laura gets up from bed quickly and hurries to get her clothes that she had set out the night before. She changes quickly and runs a brush through her hair. She kneels in front of the cage on the floor as she puts the clips into her hair. "Guess what, Hamtaro?"

Hamtaro, the orange and white hamster that has been Laura's pet and best friend for a long time, pops his head out of his little house and looks at Laura sleepily. "Heke?"

"I had a dream last night where I was a Princess in a Ham Kingdom, and you were the adorable, brave warrior who rescued the kingdom from an evil sorcerer!" exclaims Laura.

"Laura! Kana's here!" exclaims Laura's mother from downstairs.

"I'm coming, Mom!" exclaims Laura, "See you later, Hamtaro! Be good while I'm at school, okay?"

'I'm always good!' exclaims Hamtaro as Laura runs from the room, 'Now it's time to head to the Ham-Ham clubhouse!' He pushes the door of his cage up with his head and scurries out. He runs along behind Laura's desk and out the hole onto the roof. He then jumps down the drainpipe and lands on the dog's head. 'Morning, Brandy!'

Brandy yawns as Hamtaro jumps down off his head.

Hamtaro runs along and dives into the tunnel to head to the clubhouse. He hurries to the clubhouse and enters. 'Hamha, everybody!'

'Hamtaro's here!' exclaims Oxnard, the large white and gray hamster.

'Hamha, Hamtaro!' exclaims Bijou fluffing the blue ribbons in her solid white fur. She smiles at Hamtaro.

'Who's up for a game of hide and go seek?' asks Hamtaro.

'Yeah!' exclaim the ham-hams.

'I'll be it first!' exclaims Hamtaro.

'Hey, yo, ham-dudes! Let's work in teams this time!' exclaims Stan shaking his maracas and trying to show off for the girl hamsters.

'How do you play hide and go seek in teams?' asks Dexter.

'That's simple ham-dudes! We divide up into teams, and the seeker's team has to search for the other teams in stead of just one person seeking!' exclaims Stan shaking the maracas and slipping up beside Pashmina, 'Then the first team to have all their members found is the next team to be the seeker! Hey, Pashmina, want to be on my team?'

'I think that's a stupid idea!' exclaims Boss.

'I think it's très magnifique!' exclaims Bijou.

Boss blushes. 'Like I said, that's a great idea! We'll divide up into three teams! Hamtaro and Oxnard will be on my team!'

'Sure, Boss! Whatever you say!' exclaims Hamtaro.

'Like… how about us girls be one team,' suggests Sandy, 'Penelope, Pashmina, Bijou and I.'

'Dexter and I will be on Stan's team," says Howdy.

'Cappy and I can be on Boss's team,' says Maxwell.

'Then I'll be on Stan's team,' says Panda.

'All right! Let's go!' exclaims Cappy running around the clubhouse happily, 'Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!'

The hamsters all head out of the clubhouse to go play hide and seek in the forest.

* * *

Mr. Yoshi stands at the chalkboard writing down the vocabulary list.

Laura sits at her desk copying down the words. She feels something brush up against her leg and she jumps up screaming.

"Laura? Is something wrong?" asks Mr. Yoshi turning around.

"Oh… no, nothing," says Laura sitting back down and turning bright red.

"Well, can you try to keep whatever it is under control?" asks Mr. Yoshi.

Something furry brushes up against Laura's leg again.

Laura jumps up again quickly and looks down. She sees the small animal scurrying around her feet. She jumps up onto her chair. "No! Stay away from me!"

"Laura! Get down!" hisses Kana.

Laura steps up onto her desk and jumps across to the desk diagonally from hers. She jumps across the desktops until she lands and kneels on Mr. Yoshi's desk.

The small animal runs up to Mr. Yoshi's desk and starts clawing on the leg of it.

Mr. Yoshi looks at the animal. "Is that a hamster?"

The door bursts open, and a girl with shoulder-length blond hair and bright blue eyes runs into the room. She wears a tight shirt and short skirt, and she holds in her hand a pale sword. "Princess! Hey, Ham-Princess Rinni! We're in trouble! The Asagara warriors know where you are! They are on their way here! Quickly, Princess Laura! You must transform us! Oh, hey! I see Elderwoman is here already!"

"You know this hamster?" asks Mr. Yoshi as the brown hamster quits clawing his desk.

"Yes… That is Ham-Elderwoman!" exclaims the girl, "I am Aralie!"

Laura hops down from Mr. Yoshi's desk and stands up. She pulls a locket from beneath the fabric of her pale yellow shirt. She clasps the locket in her right hand. "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform me into the Princess Laura!"

Laura's clothing changes from her skirt and shirt into a long pink ball gown with a golden tiara and pink glass slippers.

"Quickly, Princess Laura!" exclaims the girl, "Transform me! Then I can protect you! That is the oath that I make to you, Princess Laura! I am your guard, your knight, and I will protect you even in my death! Quickly now, transform me!"

"Right away!" exclaims Laura. She places her right hand over the center of her chest where her locket rests. Her hand glows from the light that starts to radiate from the locket. "Locket of the Hams!"

"I am a Knight of the Ham Kingdom, Aralie," says the blond girl dropping down to one knee.

"By the Power of the Ham-Star!" Laura raises her left hand to the sky. She quickly raises her right hand as well as she says her next few words, "For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!"

The light from the locket illuminates Aralie's chest.

"I am Knight Aralie!" exclaims Aralie looking at Laura, "I am the Ham-Guard Misao!"

"Empower and transform the Ham-Guard!" exclaims Laura lowering both her hands to point her palms at Aralie's chest with the light of the locket shining in between them. "Transform Knight Aralie into Ham-Guard Aralie Misao!"

The light engulfs Aralie, and her clothing melts away into a form-fitting, brown studded-leather, sleeveless tunic over white tights. Iron bracers as well as thigh and calf protectors appear on her body to contrast the brown slippers upon her feet. Around her forehead, neck, and upper arms are bands of studded leather. The sword in Aralie's left hand changes into a slightly shorter sword that has a split blade so that with a quick turn of the hilt it can slide apart into two different swords.

Aralie thrusts her sword into the air and smiles. She says, "For Princess Laura! For Ham-Princess Rinni! For the Ham Kingdom! For Ham-Princess Laura Rinni! I am the Ham-Guard Aralie Misao!"

The light from the locket fades.

"What is going on here?" asks Mr. Yoshi.

"Laura?" asks Kana standing.

"Quickly now, Ham-Princess Laura Rinni!" exclaims Aralie, "Armor up! Then you can transform Elderwoman! The others should be arriving here soon!"

"Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!" exclaims Laura and the locket begins to glow, "Empower me! Ham-Princess Rinni, transform!"

The light from the locket engulfs Laura and her pretty ball gown changes into a pale white dress that goes down to the middle of her calves. Her glass slippers change into leather moccasins. A silvery iron short-sleeved, chain mail tunic covers the dress. A silver scepter that's the same height as her appears in her right hand. The golden tiara she had worn with her ball gown turns into a stunningly beautiful silver tiara with a large, multi-faceted ruby in the center of a silver heart at the peak. "Now, I am Ham-Princess Laura Rinni! We must save the Ham Kingdom!"

The brown hamster steps up to Laura.

"Sorry about the reaction earlier, Elderwoman! I didn't expect my allies to be hamsters!" exclaims Laura smiling as she sets her scepter on Mr. Yoshi's desk, "By the Power of the Ham-Star! Transform, Elderwoman Seira!"

The brown hamster transmutes into a girl with red hair extending down to her waist. She has pretty green eyes that twinkle when she smiles. She wears a long leather dress. "I'm Seira, the Elderwoman!"

"Transform, Ham-Elderwoman Seira Yuriko!" exclaims Laura. She goes through her movements just as she did with Aralie as she speaks again, "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Ham-Elderwoman!"

The light of the locket surrounds Seira, and her leather dress melts away into a black robe with a long chain mail shirt covering it. A tall staff with metal-tipped ends appears in her right hand. She wears tall boots that extend up to her knees where her robe ends. She holds her staff up into the air. "For the protection of the Ham Kingdom! I am Ham-Elderwoman Seira Yuriko!"

"Laura?" asks Kana standing up, "What's going on here?"

"That's a little hard to explain Kana," says Laura, "You see… I'm really from another world, and I'm the Princess of the Ham Kingdom there! Aralie Misao is my bodyguard. Seira Yuriko is my advisor."

"And Kana Aoshi is the court magician," says Seira nodding her head briskly.

"Kana Aoshi?" asks Kana, "Who is that?"

_**So don't you fear…**_

"Kana Iiwata… Allow me to show you…" Laura places her right hand over the center of her chest where her locket rests. Her hand glows as the locket begins to emit a bright light. "Locket of the Hams!"

Kana takes a step backwards as the light passes through Laura's fingers to illuminate her chest.

"By the Power of the Ham-Star!" Laura raises her left hand to the sky. She quickly raises her right hand as well as she says her next few words, "For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!"

Kana shakes fearfully as the light hits her directly.

"Empower and transform the Ham-Witch!" exclaims Laura lowering both her hands to point her palms at Kana's chest with the light of the locket shining in between them.

The light engulfs Kana, and she screams as her clothing melts away into a flowing white dress that extends to her knees. Above the dress is a shirt of twisted silver wires that catch every ray of light and shows no signs of any imperfection. The collar of the silver shirt stands up stiffly around her neck but doesn't touch it at all. A short Japanese sword appears in her right hand and she stares blankly at the wakizashi. She glances down at her feet for what should have been a second, but time seems to stop as she looks at the knee-high silver boots with the ornate wings on both sides of her calves. She twists her left foot and notices the high, spiked heels. "How am I supposed to walk in these?"

"You don't need to walk, Kana Aoshi," says Seira smiling, "Those are enchanted boots. You can fly!"

Kana faints.

"Kana!" exclaims Laura moving to catch her best friend.

Several small hamsters dash into the classroom through the still open door.

Aralie counts the animals quickly. "Ham-Princess Laura Rinni! Everyone that we have found so far is here! We are still missing Wise-Ham and the Ham-Prince!"

Seira takes Kana from Laura and tries to revive her.

Laura nods. "By the Power of the Ham-Star! Transform, Hams!"

A pale hamster transforms into a ten-year-old boy with bright green eyes and short blond hair in odd spikes thanks to his hair gel. He bows to Laura. "I am Priest Jason!"

A pair of chestnut, twin hamsters go through their metamorphosis into a pair of chestnut haired twins. They stand the same height and have the same hazel eyes. They both bow in similar fashions to Laura.

"I'm Priestess Meilin," says the girl tossing a strand of her shoulder-length hair back.

"I'm Knight Scott," says the boy running his hand through his short hair.

The last hamster, a solid black longhair hamster, transforms into a boy with black hair and blue eyes. He looks very similar to Travis. "I'm Wizard Corin."

"Corin!" exclaims Travis standing up, "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to protect the Ham-Princess, cousin!" exclaims Corin smiling, "That's my job! I didn't realize that you knew our Princess!"

"Argue later!" exclaims Aralie.

"Transform, Ham-Priestess Meilin Kari!" exclaims Laura. She goes through her movements just as she did with the others as she speaks again, "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Ham-Priestess!"

The light from the locket engulfs Meilin and her furry dress melts away into a pair of light blue breeches with a pale yellow tunic beneath a silver pair of bracers. Her hair, pulled into a ponytail, falls down from a hole in her open-faced iron helmet. She wears ankle-high, iron boots that look like they must weigh a ton. An elegant pair of sais appears in her hands. She crosses her sais over her chest and bows to Laura. "For the protection of the Ham Kingdom! I am Ham-Priestess Meilin Kari!"

Laura turns quickly to the next person. "Empower and transform the Ham-Knight!"

The light from the locket engulfs Scott and his leather attire melts away into a white shirt with loose black pants beneath a full suit of iron ring mail. He wears iron bracers, shin guards, and thigh protectors. He wears an open-faced iron helmet that looks exactly like Meilin's. He also wears ankle-high, iron boots just like the ones his twin sister wears. A heavy war hammer appears in his left hand. He raises his hammer to the air in a salute. "For the protection of the Ham Kingdom! I am Ham-Knight Scott Sanosuke!"

Laura turns quickly to the next person. "Empower and transform the Ham-Priest!"

The locket's light surrounds Jason, and his clothing fades away into a long white robe over which he wears a silver ring-mail tunic. He wears thick leather boots. He holds in his hands a tall halberd. He salutes Laura with his weapon. "For the protection of the Ham Kingdom! I am Ham-Priest Jason Kyo!"

Laura turns quickly to the next person. "Empower and transform the Ham-Wizard!"

The light encompasses Corin, and his clothing changes into a navy blue kimono with yellow moons and stars adorning the bottom hemline. He wears black slippers and a pale golden cap-style helmet. A shimmering scythe appears in his hands. He smiles and raises the scythe to salute Laura. "For the protection of the Ham Kingdom! I am Ham-Wizard Corin Kasume!"

"Now all we need to do is find Roberto Eiji, the Wise-Ham," says Seira, "and the Ham-Prince… Travis Syaoran."

"Hold it! Princess Laura's betrothed is named Travis?" asks Corin, "My cousin is named Travis!"

"And there's a Roberto here at school too! He's on the soccer team!" exclaims Laura, "Is Kana awake yet?"

"What is going on here?" asks Mr. Yoshi finally managing to overcome his shock at having hamsters transform into kids before his eyes.

"I'm awake," says Kana moving away from Seira.

Seira looks at Corin. "Are you saying that Travis Syaoran is your cousin?"

"Let's find out!" exclaims Laura taking a deep breath and looking towards Travis. Her cheeks redden.

"You said you wanted Roberto?" asks Kana blushing slightly, "I can go get him!"

"As the Ham-Knight Scott Sanosuke, I will accompany you Ham-Witch Kana Aoshi!" exclaims Scott.

"I don't like being called a witch!" exclaims Kana.

"Very well… how about Ham-Mage Kana Aoshi!" exclaims Scott.

"Better!" exclaims Kana running out with Scott.

Laura and Travis stare at each other for a moment, neither one moving.

Kana and Scott burst back into the classroom with Roberto who limps from the open wound on his thigh.

"Priest! Priestess!" exclaims Kana nearly shrieking in concern, "They're here! Please! Can you do something for Roberto?"

Meilin points her sais at Roberto's leg as Aralie tries to move Mr. Yoshi's desk to block the door.

Jason holds his halberd and points the bladed end at Roberto.

"Laura! Quickly! Transform him!" exclaims Kana.

"Hurry, heal him!" exclaims Corin.

A glowing gold light shoots from the tips of Meilin's sais and wraps around Roberto.

"Why did those guys attack me?" asks Roberto, "And why is everyone in costume?"

"You'll understand in a minute," says Seira, "As soon as Laura transforms you back into your original self!"

A pale, luminescent blue light emerges from the tip of Jason's halberd and winds around Roberto.

The two lights merge together and seep into the wound, sealing the deep slash.

Laura turns towards Roberto and places her right hand over the center of her chest where her locket rests. Her hand glows from the light of the locket. "Locket of the Hams!"

Roberto stares at Laura with a slack jaw.

"By the Power of the Ham-Star!" Laura raises her left hand to the sky. She quickly raises her right hand as well as she says her next few words, "For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!"

"I hate rats!" exclaims Roberto, "Why would I want to save a kingdom of them? What is happening?"

"Empower and transform the Wise-Ham!" exclaims Laura lowering both her hands to point her palms at Roberto's chest with the light of the locket shining in between them.

The light that engulfs Roberto pulsates slightly as his clothing melts away into a white kimono beneath a silvery iron chest plate. A tall wooden staff appears in his right hand. His eyes widen as he looks at Laura and bows slightly to her. He has no idea why he says what he says next, only that it feels right to say it. "For the protection of the Ham Kingdom! I am Wise-Ham Roberto Eiji!"

"Now… the Prince!" exclaims Aralie, "Transform the boy into Prince Travis!"

"Prince Travis? Right!" exclaims Laura spinning to look at Travis again. She hurries up to him and falls down to her knees in front of him. "I am your betrothed, Princess Laura of the Ham Kingdom! If you are my betrothed, transform into your true form, Prince Travis of the Ham-Star Kingdom!"

"I am…" Travis smiles at Laura as his clothing changes into a rich purple tunic with blue pants.

Laura smiles. She stands and holds out both her hands as if she were going to step forward and hug Travis. "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Ham-Prince!"

The light encompasses Travis and alters his clothing even further so that over his purple tunic he wears a chain mail shirt and he bears iron boots that cover the bottom portion of his blue pants. A gold crown rests on his head and on his arm rests a shining shield with a ruby imbedded in the center. He looks into Laura's eyes and smiles. "I am Ham-Prince Travis Syaoran of the Ham-Star Kingdom!"

Laura falls into Travis as a loud boom echoes throughout the room from the closed door.

"They're trying to break in! Ham-Princess Laura Rinni, you must give the sword to the Ham-Prince Travis Syaoran!" exclaims Seira, "And we'll protect you whilst you do!" She grabs the scepter from the desk and tosses it to the floor at Laura's feet.

"What is going on, Laura?" asks Travis wrapping his arms around her, "And why do I suddenly have memories of a life I never lived?"

"There's not time to explain!" says Aralie, "You need the sword!"

"What sword?" asks Travis looking around desperately.

"I have it!" exclaims Laura quickly looking at Travis. She steps back from Travis and touches her chest with both her hands to indicate that the sword is within.

"Where?" asks Travis looking over Laura's body with raised eyebrows.

Laura blushes. "It's inside me! It's a magical sword and my body is its sheath! If you are truly the Ham-Prince, then you must call out the name of the sword! The hilt will then appear!"

"Well, what's the name of the sword!" exclaims Travis.

"You're supposed to know that!" exclaims Scott, "Quickly, Ham-Prince! We haven't much time!"

"Come on, Travis! You have to know the name of the sword!" exclaims Corin.

Aralie turns the hilt of her sword and slides the twin swords apart. She stands ready to fight as the enemy pounds on the door again.

"I need to call out the name of a sword and I don't even know it?" asks Travis staring at Laura.

"You don't know?" asks Laura sagging her shoulders. She stares into Travis's eyes. "Then the Ham Kingdom is doomed!"

**_So open up your mind and close your eyes…_**

"Maybe I do know it!" exclaims Travis stepping towards Laura and taking her shoulders with both hands, "Love's First Kiss!"

Laura gasps as a jewel-encrusted hilt slides out of her chest.

Travis leans closer and kisses Laura's cheek close to her lips as his right hand grips the hilt and his left remains on her shoulder. He pulls the sword from her chest as he steps back away from her. "I will protect you, Ham-Princess Laura Rinni."

"My Prince," says Laura, "Be brave. Be careful!"

"Always, Princess… Laura!" exclaims Travis with a smile.

Kana starts to chant quietly beneath her breath as she holds her wakizashi ready to strike.

Meilin, Jason, and Corin start to mutter beneath their breath as they hold their weapons firmly.

Laura lifts her scepter quickly. She holds her weapon and hurries to grab Mr. Yoshi and pull him back away from the front of the classroom.

Shards of the door fly through the room as the battering ram crashes into it again.

Laura thrusts her scepter into the air. "Ham-Star! Protect my classmates!"

A glowing bubble of light with Laura's locket in the center surrounds all the students, and the pieces of wood burn up as they hit the glowing shield.

"For the Ham Kingdom!" exclaims Aralie, "I will protect and defend Ham-Princess Laura Rinni!" She rushes forward and strikes the first enemy with her dual short swords.

"I got your back Ham-Guard Aralie Misao!" exclaims Scott following behind Aralie as they cross over Mr. Yoshi's desk and race into the hallway.

A quick battle rages in the hallway before Aralie and Scott reenter the classroom.

"Well… it looks like we really didn't need everybody after all," says Aralie smiling. She falls forward right onto her face.

"Aralie Misao!" exclaims Seira kneeling beside her, "Oh, no! She's been injured! Meilin Kari! Can you heal her?"

"I'm on it, Seira Yuriko!" exclaims Meilin hurrying over to Aralie. She kneels down and sets her hands on Aralie's back. A soft light flows through her hands into Aralie.

"We're going to have to get out of here!" exclaims Kana, "If they know where we are, they'll be back! With more people!"

"Kana Aoshi's right!" exclaims Roberto, "They'll try to use our friends as a way to get to us!"

"Scott Sanosuke, Kana Aoshi! Take Laura Rinni back to the Ham Kingdom!" exclaims Aralie pushing herself to her feet, "Corin Kasume and Seira Yuriko will take Travis Syaoran back to the Ham-Star Kingdom! Meilin Kari, Jason Kyo, Roberto Eiji, and I will stay behind and act as a decoy until you are all safe!"

"I am not going to hide!" exclaims Laura, "And I'm ashamed of you for suggesting it, Aralie Misao! I will not run from my duty!"

"But the enemy…!"

"Will find us wherever we are!" exclaims Laura, "So… We will go and face the Asagara warriors! Instead of letting them come to us, we'll go to them!"

"That isn't wise, Laura Rinni!" exclaim Roberto and Seira.

"I think it's a fine idea," says Travis, "We weren't exactly ready when they were coming to us, so we'll head to them!"

"Yes, Travis Syaoran," says Scott nodding.

"Then we have to go to Ham Land!" exclaims Corin, "I can open a portal for us!" He starts into a quiet chant of sounds that remind Laura of her pet hamster.

A section of the wall spreads apart to reveal a lovely grassy meadow not far from the main gates to a large castle.

Aralie runs through the opening first and shivers as she passes through a water-like barrier. She appears unharmed on the other side. She looks around and waves at the others.

Laura grabs Travis's hand and pulls him through the opening.

Seira, Kana, and Meilin hurry after them with Scott, Jason, Corin, and Roberto running through last.

"Let's save the Ham Kingdom from the Asagara warriors!" everyone exclaim as they run towards the castle and the portal behind them closes.

(End Dream)

Laura wakes up and yawns. She sits up and rubs her eyes. "Wow! What a strange dream! I actually had a dream in my dream!"

"Laura! Hurry up or you'll be late for school!" exclaims her mother from downstairs.

Laura gets up and hurries to get ready for school. "I'll see you after school, Hamtaro!"

"Heke?" asks Hamtaro peaking his head out of his little house.

* * *

"Attention, students!" exclaims Mr. Yoshi, "We have a new student joining our class today! This is Aralie Hayakawa! She has just moved here from Hollywood, California, in America, and she something to say to the class."

The blond haired girl bows to the class. "I am glad to be back here in Japan. Unfortunately, I will not be able to stay here long. I am only staying here while filming a new movie. The casting director has asked me to invite everyone to an open audition that will be held this Friday here at the school in the auditorium. The movie has an all child and hamster cast. If anyone would like their pet hamster to audition for a role in the movie, they are welcome to bring him or her. Actual movie recording sessions will be on weekends. The movie itself is a medieval fairy-tale. Thank you."

"Very good, Aralie. What is the name of this movie?" asks Mr. Yoshi.

"Fairytale, The Hamster Kingdom," says Aralie looking at Mr. Yoshi.

Laura stands up and bows to Aralie. "Greetings, Ham-Guard Aralie Misao! I am Laura Haruna!"

"Greetings, Ham-Princess Laura Rinni!" exclaims Aralie staring at Laura in shock, "How did you know what role I'm playing in the movie?"

"No clue… Call it intuition!" exclaims Laura.

"You had the dream too, didn't you? About the Ham Kingdom? And the other Hams?" asks Aralie staring at Laura.

Laura nods. "Kari… Sanosuke… Kyo…!"

"Roberto Eiji," says Kana standing, "Seira Yuriko, and me… Kana Iiwata becoming the witch, Ham-Mage Kana Aoshi!"

_**Even though you're miles away… **_

"And you can't forget about me," says Travis standing and bowing to Aralie, "Ham-Prince Travis Syaoran! And my cousin, Corin Kasume!"

"We all had the same dream!" exclaims Aralie.

"Who's to say it was really a dream?" asks Roberto walking through the doorway with a few other people, also new students to the school, some in his class but not all of them.

"I think it was a sign," says Corin, "Maybe that we should all be in this movie…"

"Either that or it was a flashback from our former lives as Hams in the Ham Kingdom!" exclaims Seira.

"You really think that we're from another planet, Seira?" asks Kana.

Seira shrugs.

"Anyways… we'll see you guys… and girls at the audition!" exclaims Meilin curtseying.

"We'll be there!" exclaims Travis smiling.

Roberto and the others head off to go to their classrooms.

"Please take the empty seat at the back of the classroom, Aralie," says Mr. Yoshi.

"Yes, Mr. Yoshi," says Aralie curtseying slightly in her long blue skirt. She carries her book bag back to the desk at the very back of the classroom, and she slides gracefully into the seat.

Laura, Kana, and Travis sit down with huge smiles on their faces.

Laura looks back at Aralie and notices her sitting extremely straight in her seat. She can't help but think that the new girl must have gone through extensive posture training.

"Okay," says Mr. Yoshi, "we were studying geography. Oh, Aralie, if you haven't covered any of this in your last school, you can come see me after class and I'll give you some homework to help you catch up. Now… who can tell me the capitol of England?"

Aralie raises her hand quickly.

"Do you have a question, Aralie?" asks Mr. Yoshi.

"No, sir, I would like to answer the question," says Aralie after standing up, "The capitol of England is London. The capitol of Ireland is Dublin. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are all part of the United Kingdom and have no capitols."

"Very good, Aralie," says Mr. Yoshi.

Aralie sits down in her seat again.

"Show off!" mumbles another girl.

Aralie pulls a plastic case from her bag and opens it. She pulls out her glasses and slides them on before replacing the case in her bag. She pulls her notebook and pen from her bag and sits staring at Mr. Yoshi as he continues.

A boy chuckles about Aralie's thin-rimmed glasses.

Aralie sighs as she sits in class and tries to concentrate on her work, ignoring the sneers from a few of the other students.

* * *

Laura sits on the couch with her parents and Hamtaro later that evening. "Mom, there's going to be auditions at our school for a new movie! They need kids and hamsters!"

'Hey, I'm a hamster!' exclaims Hamtaro.

"A movie starring kids and hamsters?" asks Laura's mom.

"Yeah! Kana and I really want to go and audition with Hamtaro and Oxnard!" exclaims Laura.

"Well, I don't know, pumpkin," says Laura's dad.

"Please?" asks Laura, "According to the new girl in our class, Aralie, filming will only be on weekends! And it's just an audition! There's no saying that I would even get a part in the movie! I just want to audition!"

"Well…" Laura's dad shares a look with his wife. "Okay, pumpkin! You and Hamtaro can audition!"

"Yes! Thank you!" exclaims Laura, "I'm going to go call Kana!" She jumps up from the couch and hurries off.

'An audition for a movie?' asks Hamtaro, 'I wonder what part I'll get!'

* * *

'A movie?' ask all the ham-hams after Hamtaro and Oxnard tell them the good news.

'Yes, Laura was excited all night!' exclaims Hamtaro, 'We're going to the school this afternoon to audition for the movie!'

'Kana and I are going too!' exclaims Oxnard, "She was jumping around all night practicing!'

'Ooo… I heard Maria talking about a new movie!' exclaims Bijou, 'Maybe she and I will audition as well!'

'That would be great!' exclaims Hamtaro.

'Let's all go down to the school and audition for parts in the movie!' exclaims Boss.

'Yep-p!' exclaim the hamsters.

'Ookwee! Ookwee!' exclaims Penelope jumping up and down. The yellow sheet that covers her bounces up to show some of her white and brown fur.

'Zuzuzu. Save the Ham-Kingdom,' says Snoozer as he sleeps within his sock on the loft.

'Snoozer's right!' exclaims Pashmina, 'We need to save the Ham-Kingdom!'

'Let's all audition for the movie!' exclaims Dexter.

'I find it all very moving! Get it! Movie! Moving!' exclaims Howdy.

'You are pathetic!' exclaims Dexter.

Howdy hangs his head.

'I wonder if there are going to be any cute hamster-babes there!' exclaims Stan.

'You stay away from the girls, bro!' exclaims Sandy, 'The last thing I need is to be peeling you off one of them!'

'Hey! I'll be nice, sis!' exclaims Stan, 'But I can't guarantee that they'll be nice to me.'

'I need to go home and groom my fur!' exclaims Bijou blushing a soft pink beneath her fur, 'Oh, Hamtaro! Would you walk me home?'

'Sure, Bijou! It's on my way home anyway!' exclaims Hamtaro smiling.

The ham-hams all head off to prepare for the audition.

* * *

Laura and Kana walk into the school auditorium with their carriers. They smile and wave at two of their classmates, Kylie and June who also brought their hamsters to the audition. They hurry over to them.

"Do you think we'll get any parts in the movie?" asks Kylie.

"I'm guessing only minor roles," says Kana, "but it'll be fun just to audition! But if the dream that Laura and I had is any indication…"

"I see you brought Hamtaro and Oxnard!" exclaims June after Kana's voice trails off, "We brought Penelope and Pashmina too! I think Penelope may be too young for the movie though. She is a baby hamster after all."

"This is so exciting! I've got goose bumps!" exclaims Laura.

'Goose bumps? Heke? What're they?' asks Hamtaro, 'I hope they aren't contagious!' He rubs his fur over his cheeks and eyes while making an audible "Kushi-kushi!"

"And look who's over there!" exclaims Kana pointing discreetly towards the door.

Laura looks over to where Kana's pointing. "It's… uh… Travis!"

Travis spots Laura and the girls and he walks over. He stands slightly nervously in front of them. "Hi! Nice to see I'm not the only one of us to come audition for roles in the movie. Did you really have the same dream I did?"

"Uh-huh!" Laura nods and blushes. "My dream involved us meeting all the other Hams… the new students, and I transformed them into their original forms. Hey! I thought you had soccer practice!"

"Well…" Travis blushes. "Actually, almost the entire team is coming to audition. So… we decided to postpone practice until tomorrow morning!"

"And there's another member of the team now!" exclaims Kana blushing slightly.

Laura follows Kana's gaze to the door. She huffs indignantly. "Oh, it's that Roberto character! He is always so rude!"

Travis chuckles. "That's just his character! He's actually rather nice once you get to know him! But he is a bit of a loner!"

"I'd say!" exclaims Laura.

"Laura! Kana!" exclaims Bijou's owner, Maria, hurrying towards them with a hamster carrier in her hands, "Kylie! June! I'm glad that I'm not the only person I know here!"

"You know who I don't see though," says June looking around at all the congregating students.

"Who?" asks Maria.

"I don't see Aralie," says June.

"Maybe she doesn't need to audition," says Kylie, "It sounded to me that she already had a part in the movie… the Ham-Guard."

"Attention, please!" exclaims a loud boyish voice that echoes through the gymnasium, "Attention!"

Everyone turns to the stage where the boy stands in front of the closed curtain.

The boy is about the same age as everyone else in the auditorium. His eyes are bright green and his short blond hair is currently held up in odd spikes by the hair gel he uses. A fuzzy black hamster with super-long fur rests on his shoulder. "I would like for each of you to pick a number from the box in front of the stage. When your number is called, you will come up onto the stage and do a reading for our casting director!"

"Who is he?" asks June looking at the boy starry-eyed.

"He just came to join the soccer team," says Travis, "He's in class A, I think. His name is Jason."

"He is so cute!" exclaims June.

Kylie giggles.

"If you came just to have your hamster audition and didn't want to audition yourself, please come see me!" exclaims the boy.

Everyone walks up to draw a numbered card from the box in front of the stage.

"Hey! I got number twelve!" exclaims Kana.

"Oh, no! I got number fifty-three!" exclaims Laura looking first at her card and then at the room full of people, "There won't be any parts left by the time I get to audition!"

"That's not the way they are supposed to hold an audition," says Travis drawing a card and looking cautiously at the number. "I have number fifty-five. There'll be just one person in between us, Laura!"

Laura smiles.

"Alright! Number one!" exclaims the boy on the stage. He leads the student into the backstage area.

'Hey, Hamtaro!' calls Oxnard, 'Do you think we'll get parts in the movie?'

'I hope so! Laura seems really excited!' exclaims Hamtaro.

'I wonder what kind of parts they have for hamsters,' says Pashmina.

'Oh, look over there! It's the other Ham-hams!' exclaims Bijou.

The hamsters look over to the stage where Boss, Cappy, Maxwell, Sandy, Howdy, Dexter, Stan, and Panda sit.

'I wish we could go see them,' says Pashmina, 'but if we leave our carriers our humans will worry!'

'Ookwee!' says Penelope.

Roberto and a few of the other soccer players come over and start talking to Travis about soccer while the girls giggle about the movie.

"Number twelve!" calls the boy with the black hamster.

"I have to go!" exclaims Kana. She hurries up onto the stage and goes behind the curtain with the boy.

"Good luck, Kana!" Laura sighs as her best friend disappears from sight.

One by one, the auditorium clears out. Several people stay after their audition is over, obviously they were told that they might get parts, and they wanted to wait until the auditions were complete to find out whether they did or not.

June runs back to Laura as she sits off to the side of everyone else with Kana, getting more nervous as every person goes up onto the stage. "Guess what! They've given me a role as a peasant! They really liked Pashmina! She's going to be one of their 'magical hamsters'!"

"Wow!" exclaims Kana, "They announced which part they were going to give you already?"

"Yes… Well, it wasn't a very big part, I guess," says June, "but it's big enough for me! I'm happy about it! I saw Aralie back there too!"

"Yeah, so did I," says Kana, "She didn't look too happy when I saw her!"

"I know. She looked angry," says June, "but did you see her hamster? She's so cute!"

"She's a Chinese hamster, I think," says Kana, "Aralie said her name was Coral."

"Oh, cute," says Laura sighing. She slumps down in her chair a little.

"Hey, Roberto and Travis are coming over here!" exclaims Kana sitting up straight and smiling. She runs her hand through her hair to smooth it out. "Hey, guys! How did your audition go, Roberto?"

"They asked me to stay until the auditions were over," says Roberto, "They liked my performance! Maybe I should go into acting after school! What about you three?"

"Well, Laura hasn't gone yet," says Kana, "And they asked me to stay too!"

"They gave me a part as a peasant!" exclaims June, "I'm happy about it! I'm going to go home and tell my parents!" She races out of the auditorium with Pashmina in the carrier in her hand.

"Kylie's a shopkeeper, I think," says Kana, "Isn't that right, Laura?"

"Yes. She got a role as a shopkeeper in the Ham-ham Village, and Penelope is the shop hamster," says Laura, "Penelope's too young for a bigger hamster role!" She holds Hamtaro's carrier closer to her.

'Hamtaro, I think something's wrong with Laura,' says Oxnard, 'She looks nervous!'

'Ach! Maybe this movie thing is something really scary!' exclaims Hamtaro starting to shake.

'It wasn't that bad,' says Oxnard, 'They just made me jump through a few hoops and run on a whiz-wheel! They made Kana do a lot of talking though.'

'Maybe it's not a bad thing for hamsters, but is for humans!' exclaims Hamtaro.

**_I'll be there for you no matter where you are…_**

"Are you getting nervous, Laura?" asks Travis sitting down beside Laura.

"Well, maybe just a little," says Laura, "What about you, Travis?"

Travis sighs. He blushes. "Just a little!"

It doesn't take much longer for the other students to go up on the stage.

The boy steps out again and calls. "Can I get number fifty-three and number fifty-five now?"

"Both of us?" asks Laura standing up.

Travis and Laura look at each other confused and head up to the stage. They both walk back with the boy.

"I told you! I will only do the Princess if we can't find anybody suitable!" exclaims Aralie, "I'm sick and tired of playing prissy little princesses! I want to play a part where I can actually slouch once in a while! I want to fight and tumble like the boys!"

The casting director sits beside Aralie glaring at her. "This is the last girl! If she isn't good enough to play the Princess, you're stuck with the job, Aralie!"

Aralie sighs and looks at the end of the stage where Travis and Laura stand. She looks at Laura with pleading eyes, and she winks slyly.

Four other kids, also new students in various classes, sit behind Aralie and the casting director.

The boy who escorted Travis and Laura in walks over to sit on the director's other side.

"Names please?" asks the casting director.

"Laura and Travis," says Aralie quickly, "They're in my class."

"And the hamster?" asks the boy sitting beside the director.

'I'm Hamtaro!' exclaims the hamster.

"His name's Hamtaro!" says Laura.

"Alright, Laura," says the casting director pointing to a script, "Will you give Ham-taro to Jason here so he can evaluate your pet's potential? I'll have you and Travis read from that script with Aralie."

Laura walks up and sets Hamtaro's carrier in front of the boy. She lifts the script.

Travis and Laura sit down in chairs in front of Aralie.

"I will read for the Ham-Guard… Laura, you read the part of the Ham-Princess, and Travis, please read the Ham-Prince!" exclaims Aralie lifting her own script, "We'll start at page 249, scene one, my line."

Laura flips to the page and holds it out so that both her and Travis can see.

Aralie lifts her reading glasses and puts them on. She reads her lines from the script. "Princess! Princess! I think we're in trouble here!"

"What kind of trouble, Ham-Guard?" asks Laura reading the lines from the script.

"Oh, I don't know! Let's see! There's this giant dragon coming straight towards us!" exclaims Aralie panting slightly, "And the Ham-Witch is injured! The Ham-Priestess is trying to heal her now! I don't know if they'll be done in time! Wise-Ham and Ham-Elderwoman are both trying everything they can think of to stop the dragon, and none of it's working!"

"Well, then what do we do? Oh, if only we had managed to find the Ham-Prince in time! Surely he could lead us to victory!" exclaims Laura reading the lines, "Hey…! Oh! What is this? Look at the Locket of the Hams! The Prince must be near! But where? Who? Ham-Guard! Look! The light from the Locket of the Hams!"

"I see it!" exclaims Aralie.

"It's highlighting him!" exclaims Laura, "The peasant boy we rescued yesterday!"

"I see it! Princess!"

Laura doesn't hesitate to read the words. In fact, she actually stands up abruptly and places her right hand over the center of her chest. She goes through her movements just like she did in her dream. "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Ham-Prince!"

Aralie gasps as she looks at Laura.

Laura passes the script to Travis as he stands up beside her.

"What?" asks Travis in surprise, "What exactly just happened here?"

"There's not time to explain!" says Aralie, "We need your help, Ham-Prince!"

"Okay… I have no idea what's going on, but whatever!" exclaims Travis, "Sure, I'll help you! Now… uh, what do I do?"

"You need the sword!" exclaims Aralie.

"What sword?" asks Travis desperately.

"I have it!" exclaims Laura quickly looking at Travis.

"Where?" asks Travis.

Laura blushes as she looks at what the words of the script say. "It's inside me! It's a magical sword and my body is its sheath! If you are truly the Ham-Prince, then you must call out the name of the sword! The hilt will then appear!"

"Well, what's the name of the sword!" exclaims Travis.

"You're supposed to know that!" exclaims Aralie, "Quickly, Ham-Prince! We haven't much time! I'm going to hold off the dragon! If I die, you must protect the Ham-Princess!"

"I need to call out the name of a sword and I don't even know it?" asks Travis.

"You don't know?" asks Laura sagging her shoulders.

"Maybe I do!" exclaims Travis, "Love's First Kiss!"

Laura gasps.

"Very good!" exclaims the casting director. He glances to Aralie with a smile. "Congratulations, Ham-Prince and Ham-Princess!"

"And Hamtaro here will make a very good magic hamster!" exclaims the boy with the long-haired black hamster, "Hi! I'm Jason. The Ham-Priest! And my hamster here is Midnight!"

"I'm Aralie, the Ham-Guard!" exclaims Aralie smiling, "Thank you so much, Laura! I really did not want the role of Princess! You saved me from the starring role!"

Laura blushes.

"I'm Meilin, the Ham-Priestess," says a girl with shoulder-length, chestnut hair and hazel eyes. She stands next to a boy with matching chestnut hair, only much shorter.

"I'm Meilin's twin brother, Scott," says the boy looking at the two with his hazel eyes, "I am the Ham-Knight!"

The last girl, with red hair down to her waist and pretty green eyes, smiles. "I'm Seira, the Ham-Elderwoman!"

"I'm the Ham-Wizard!" exclaims the last boy. His hair and eyes match Travis's. "Hey, cousin! How ya doing?"

"I'm fine, Corin. You?" replies Travis. He glances at Laura and smiles.

"A pleasure to meet you all," says Laura bowing. She smiles at everyone.

"I'll get the others, if you've decided, Caster," says Jason standing.

"Yes," says the casting director handing his clipboard to Jason.

Jason draws back the curtain and steps out so the others can see him. After about a minute, Kana and Roberto walk onto the stage with Jason.

"Kana, you will be the Ham-Witch or the Ham-Mage. We call her both," says Jason, "And Roberto, you get to be Wise-Ham!"

"All right, we'll meet back here tomorrow at noon and head out to the location where filming will take place," says the casting director, "That should give you plenty of time for track practice, right, Jason?"

"Uh… ask Travis and Roberto, they're on the team too," says Jason.

"We should be done by noon," says Travis, "We normally don't practice all morning long unless we have a match to prepare for."

"And you can meet the rest of the hamsters tomorrow then!" exclaims Seira, "Nene is really anxious to meet some ham-buddies!"

"Come on, Laura! We got to run home and tell our parents!" exclaims Kana grabbing Laura's hand.

Laura grabs Hamtaro's carrier as Kana pulls her off the stage. "See you tomorrow, everyone!"

* * *

Movie production goes rather quickly, everyone works their hardest trying to get it done in the amount of time that they have using only weekends and an occasional Friday evening. The parts in the main village of the Ham-Kingdom, Chica-Chica Village, are the quickest scenes to finish and are soon all completed.

"All right! It's time for the magical hamsters scene!" calls the director, "We need Coral, Midnight, Cherry Blossom, and Hamtaro on the giant whiz-wheel!"

"Heke!" exclaims Cherry Blossom, a reddish-brown female hamster. She rubs her fur as her owner, Scott, places her onto the giant wheel.

Hamtaro runs over and jumps into the wheel. 'What's our motivation?'

'I don't know. I think it's just supposed to be running like mad,' says Cherry Blossom.

Aralie carries a Chinese striped hamster over to the wheel.

'Morning, Coral!' exclaims Hamtaro, 'Sleep well last night?'

'Not really. I could use a couple more zus,' says Coral yawning.

Jason takes his longhaired hamster over to the other three. "You be good now, Midnight, and just do your best!"

'I always do, Jason!' exclaims Midnight smoothing his black fur.

"Now! I need those hamsters to run on the wheel. Then Ham-lady Bijou needs to run up with Nene, Sakura, Oxnard, and Snoop!"

"Bada-bada!" cheer the hamsters.

Hamtaro, Midnight, Coral, and Cherry Blossom start running on the exercise wheel.

Bijou and Oxnard run towards the wheel with Sakura, a reddish-brown female hamster that looks exactly like Cherry Blossom.

A large white hamster male runs along behind the other three hamsters with a small brown hamster girl.

'You can run really fast, Nene,' says the white hamster.

'Thanks, Snoop,' says the brown hamster, 'I've been working on my whiz-wheel at home seven days a week to try to buff up for this scene!'

'Don't let Stan know that!' exclaims Snoop chuckling, 'He may try to hit on you!'

'He always tries that,' says Bijou, 'One must simply learn to ignore him.'

While the director and the animal trainer bark out orders to the hamsters, Kana and Laura sit down with the other girls behind the stage.

"I'm sorry that you weren't given a very big part in the movie, Maria," says Kana.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm just happy that Bijou gets to be in it," says Maria, "and that the director agreed to let me play a piano piece for the soundtrack! That will mean more to me than being an actress in the film!"

Meilin smiles and opens a can of soda. "At least you have something that you can do other than act. Seira and I have been acting practically all our lives."

"Yeah. Our parents were best friends… so much so that when Scott and Meilin's parents died in the plane crash, that we took them in," says Seira leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes, "We were four I think in our first movie together."

"Hey… you were four you mean! I'm younger than you are! I was still three when we started the movie!" exclaims Meilin.

Aralie sighs.

Corin walks up. He blushes. "Hey, Laura… could I… could I talk to you… alone?"

"Um… yeah…" says Laura standing up. "Let's go for a walk."

Corin blushes as he leads Laura away from the other girls.

"Have you done a lot of acting before, Corin?" asks Laura.

"Well… yeah. Small parts mostly," says Corin, "My dad moved us all to Hollywood so that he could write screenplays. Mom and I have been doing all the work though… acting."

"So… uh… what did you want to talk about?" asks Laura as they approach a small fountain that is the focal point of the Chica-Chica Village.

"Well… uh… I was… uh… actually hoping…" Corin looks at his feet and kicks at a small rock. His cheeks turn a deep red. He takes a really deep breath and holds his head up with his eyes clamped tight. He quickly reveals the reason why he wanted to speak to her alone. "I have a crush on you and I would like to know if you want to go to a movie with me on Saturday morning while the others are at the track meet!"

Laura blushes. "Corin… that's really sweet."

"So is that a yes?" asks Corin opening his eyes and smiling.

"I'm not allowed to date right now," says Laura bowing, "but thank you for the offer."

"Oh…" Corin slumps his shoulders. "There's someone else, isn't there… someone else that you like?"

"Yes… but I'm not allowed to date him either!" exclaims Laura, "My parents' rule!"

"So… uh, who is he?" asks Corin.

"Someone you know," says Laura, "We should head back now. They'll probably be needing us soon."

Corin nods and walks back in silence beside Laura.

Laura stops to look at the hamsters playing their parts. She smiles.

"It's Travis, isn't it?" whispers Corin.

"Who…" Laura blushes a deep red and stares at the hamsters.

"Yeah… He has a crush on you, you know," says Corin, "He told me so. He is my cousin, after all. I guess you'll be cheering for him at the game. I'll see you there then." He hurries off thoroughly embarrassed and disappears.

Hamtaro runs down from the small stage where he was doing his performance and he scurries over to Laura. He climbs up the fabric of her dress all the way to her hand. 'Is something wrong, Laura?'

"Hamtaro! Are you done with your part of the performance?" asks Laura.

'I'm here, Laura! Talk to me!' exclaims Hamtaro.

"I bet you want a hamster treat for all your good work," says Laura smiling and digging into the folds of her pink belt-sash. She pulls out a seed stick and passes it to Hamtaro.

"Heke!" exclaims Hamtaro, 'Thanks, Laura! … Wait a minute! I'm supposed to be helping you feel better! Now tell me what's wrong! I'm here for you, Laura!'

"We should be all done with the hamsters now," says the director.

'That's what he thinks!' exclaims Boss.

'Hey, Boss!' exclaims Nene bounding up to the tall field hamster sitting at the base of a tree, 'Did you come to help with the movie?'

'Yep-p, Nene!' exclaims Boss as the girl hamster blushes, 'I brought all the hamsters to help! Is there anything we can do?'

'I don't know if there's really anything to be done!' exclaims Coral hurrying over to all the hamsters.

'There's nothing to be built?' asks Panda holding his hammer and sulking.

'Well, I for one have no problems with having nothing to do,' says Stan sliding up to Coral and shaking his maracas, 'Hey, Coral, you… uh… want to go split a few seeds with me?'

'Stan! Like down, boy!' exclaims Sandy.

'I have an idea of how we could all help,' says Midnight coming up with the other hamsters that had been on the stage.

'What is it, Midnight?' asks Pashmina.

'Well, the next scene that the director wants to do is the scene where the kids rescue Travis!' exclaims Midnight.

'But Travis is not here yet,' says Bijou quietly.

'That sounds like a good plan! We can help by finding Travis!' exclaims Boss.

'Ookwee! Ookwee!' exclaims Penelope, 'Ookwee!'

'Hamtaro! Can you come?' asks Oxnard.

'I need to stay here with Laura. Sorry, guys!' says Hamtaro calling out to his ham-friends.

'We'll be back in a flash with Travis!' exclaims Stan shaking his maracas.

Hamtaro cuddles up to Laura while the other hamsters bustle off.

"Corin just asked me out, Hamtaro," whispers Laura. She sits down in an empty chair and closes her eyes.

'Asked you out?' asks Hamtaro.

"I told him I couldn't," whispers Laura.

'Good! I don't want him near you! I'm your protector!' exclaims Hamtaro.

"He told me that Travis has a crush on me!" whispers Laura opening her eyes and looking happily at her little hamster.

'I'm here for you, Laura! Whenever you need me!' exclaims Hamtaro starting to eat the treat that Laura had given him.

Boss and the hamsters run back up.

'Hey, Hamtaro! We got Travis! He's like so running right behind us!" exclaims Sandy.

Travis runs up and stops in front of Laura's chair, panting slightly. He smiles at Laura. "Hi!"

"Uh… hi, Travis," says Laura.

"Hey, so I see you're finally here!" exclaims Roberto walking over, "We're all ready for the rescue the prince scene!"

Travis straightens the ragged tunic and pants that he wears. "I'm ready!"

* * *

The girls all wear pleasant blue kimonos, just a shade lighter than the blue suits that the boys all wear. They all sit down for the private screening of the movie.

"Hey, Kana… uh… could I sit by you?" asks Roberto blushing.

Kana blushes and nods her head as she takes her seat.

Roberto sits down beside Kana and smiles at her.

Laura takes the seat on Kana's other side and glances sideways at her best friend who stares starry-eyed at the boy she's had a crush on since he came to their school.

"Hey, Laura! Are these seats taken?" asks Corin indicating the two empty seats beside Laura.

"No… not at all, Corin," says Laura.

"Great!" exclaims Corin as Travis steps up to him, "You can have the seat by Laura, Travis! I want the aisle!"

Travis blushes slightly as he sits down beside Laura.

Laura blushes and smiles at Travis.

Corin sits down in the seat beside Travis.

Aralie, Kylie, June, and Maria slide into the seats right in front of Laura and Kana's row.

"This movie is going to be so cool!" exclaims Kylie.

"I can't believe we're all going to be in a movie!" exclaims June, "And Maria's the main musician!"

"No, I'm not! I'm just an important musician!" exclaims Maria, "We even used one of my original works!"

"Original works?" asks Aralie in awe, "Wow! You must really be a prima donna of the piano! I wish I could play the piano!" She smiles at Maria.

"Thank you," says Maria nodding and blushing slightly.

Seira and Meilin sit down in the center of the front row and giggle secretly together.

Jason sits down beside Meilin while Scott sits beside Seira and sets his hand gently on top of hers.

"The movie will begin in just a moment," says the director taking a seat at the very back.

The lights dim and everyone waits for the movie to start with baited breath.

(Movie scene)

"I am a magical hamster named Sakura!"

"And I'm a magical hamster named Hamtaro!"

"Cut it out, Hamtaro! I'm the narrator for this story! I'm from the Ham Kingdom, namely Chica-Chica Village, and this is the story of how we magical hamsters saved the Ham Kingdom!"

"We weren't the only ones to save the day! It's all because of Princess Rinni!"

"Ahem! Our story begins on a bright, sunny day…"

Laura walks out into the garden. She curtseys to the boy in front of her. "You asked to see me, oh great Wiseman Roberto?"

Roberto turns to look at Laura and bows down to her. "Yes, Princess Laura. I did wish to see you… Long ago, when our world was still young, a special necklace was made that has been passed down through the royal family ever since. The locket came to your mother on her sixteenth birthday when she married your father who was the prince at the time, and it was intended to be passed on to you on your sixteenth birthday, but the evil wizard, Narcileth, has been seen once again in the Ham Kingdom and you, as the only heir to your father's rule, must now protect the people."

"Roberto. I don't understand," says Laura.

"You must search throughout the Ham Kingdom for the people who will assist you to save our kingdom from the wizard!" exclaims Roberto holding out the locket, "This locket will guide you to them!"

Laura takes the locket and holds it in her hand as it starts to glow. She places the necklace around her neck and the light illuminates Roberto. "What is it doing, Roberto?"

"I am one of the people who will help you. The locket is telling you such!" exclaims Roberto, "Now, repeat the words I'm about to tell you."

"O-Okay!" exclaims Laura.

"Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Wise-Ham Eiji!" exclaims Roberto.

Laura places her right hand over the center of her chest where her locket rests. Her hand glows from the light still illuminating the locket. "Locket of the Hams!"

"By the Power of the Ham-Star!" Laura raises her left hand to the sky. She quickly raises her right hand as well as she says her next few words, "For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!"

Roberto watches in awe as Laura moves on instinct alone.

"Empower and transform the Wise-Ham Eiji!" exclaims Laura lowering both her hands to point her palms at Roberto's chest with the light of the locket shining in between them.

The light engulfs Roberto and his clothing melts away into a white kimono beneath a silvery iron chest plate. A tall wooden staff appears in his right hand. "Now, I am Wise-Ham Eiji, Princess Laura. We must hurry. Surely there are others here within the palace who are also Hams! We must find them quickly! We need all the Hams, and especially your betrothed, the Ham-Prince, to save the Ham Kingdom!"

"We haven't much time!" exclaims Laura looking at the locket, which no longer glows.

Roberto takes Laura's hand curtly and pulls her forward, out of the garden and to the training area where two young knights stand in combat.

Several other knights stand around cheering and watching their friends practice their trade.

"I fight for the Ham-Princess!" exclaims the taller of the two knights.

"Go ahead and fight for her! My only wish is to protect the Ham-Princess!" exclaims the shorter knight slamming the sword into the other's shield, "I will protect Ham-Princess Rinni just as I protect Princess Laura!"

The light flies forth from the locket and dances upon the shorter knight's metal armor.

"Hold!" shouts a knight on the sidelines.

The two knights stop in the midst of their attacks. They both stand to face Laura.

The shorter knight quickly drops down onto both knees and pulls the helmet off to reveal her blond, shoulder-length hair and girlish face. Aralie smiles at Laura. "Princess Laura!"

"Good day to you, Knight Aralie." Laura walks towards the short knight and curtseys.

The light from the locket shines upon a single symbol along the top of Aralie's chest plate.

"Princess Laura, Misao is the name of the Ham-Guard," says Roberto, "and that is Aralie."

Laura places her right hand over the center of her chest where her locket rests. Her hand glows from the light still illuminating the locket. "Locket of the Hams!"

"Ham-Guard? Me?" asks Aralie.

"By the Power of the Ham-Star!" Laura raises her left hand to the sky. She raises her right hand as she says her next few words, "For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!"

Aralie tries to stand and the taller knight assists her to her feet.

"Empower and transform the Ham-Guard Misao!" exclaims Laura lowering both her hands to point her palms at Aralie's chest with the light of the locket shining in between them.

The light engulfs Aralie and her armor melts away into a form-fitting, brown studded-leather, sleeveless tunic over white tights. Iron bracers as well as thigh and calf protectors appear on her body to contrast the brown slippers upon her feet. Around her forehead, neck, and upper arms are bands of studded leather. The sword in Aralie's left hand changes into a slightly shorter sword that has a split blade so that with a quick turn of the hilt it can slide apart into two different swords.

"Welcome, Ham-Guard Misao," says Roberto, "The protection of the Princess Laura and the Ham-Princess Rinni is in your hands now!"

Aralie thrusts her sword into the air and shouts, "For the Ham-Princess! For the Ham Kingdom! For Princess Laura! I am the Ham-Guard Misao!"

The light from the locket fades.

"Come on! We have to go!" exclaims Roberto, "There are others yet to find!"

"If we intend to run everywhere, I really should change into something easier to move around in," says Laura panting.

"Oh, yes! Of course," says Roberto, "Say 'Ham-Princess, transform.' That… should do it."

"Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom!" exclaims Laura and the locket begins to glow, "Empower me! Ham-Princess Rinni, transform!"

The light from the locket engulfs Laura and her pretty ball gown changes into a pale white dress that goes down to the middle of her calves. A silvery iron chain mail, short-sleeved tunic covers the dress. A silver scepter that's the same height as her appears in her right hand. The golden tiara she had worn with her ball gown turns into a stunningly beautiful silver tiara with a large, multi-faceted ruby in the center of a silver heart at the peak. "Now, I, Ham-Princess Rinni, am ready to go. We must move quickly to find the others and save the Ham Kingdom!"

**_Just remember you are not alone…_**

As the three children run off, they pass the stables where several young squires are tending to their master's horses.

The light from the locket around Laura's neck illuminates a boy beside a large white stallion. "The locket! Look! It's that squire!"

"He must be the Ham-Knight Sanosuke!" exclaims Aralie, "It would be just like the Ham Star to choose a squire to rise above his rank!"

Laura moves through her motions as she says the words. "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Ham-Knight Sanosuke!"

The light engulfs Scott.

The rags that Scott wears as a sign that he is a peasant and squire transform into full iron ring mail, and he wears an iron helmet over his chestnut hair. He turns to look at Laura, Aralie, and Roberto. He bows. "Ham-Princess Rinni."

"Ham-Knight Sanosuke!" exclaims Laura smiling.

"Ham-Knight?" asks Scott.

"Come with us, Sanosuke," says Aralie, "We're heading to the temple! Surely the Priest or Priestess will be there!"

"Yes… We must hurry!" exclaims Roberto, "Narcileth could attack us at any moment! We must be prepared!"

The four children run off together to try to save the kingdom.

(End Movie scene)

"Look! There's me and June!" exclaims Kylie pointing to the screen as the scene in the marketplace begins.

"Do I look fat?" asks June.

"No, June," says Maria, "Oh, hey! That's my song in the background. The one I wrote and played for the movie soundtrack!"

Laura covers her mouth and yawns.

Travis leans close to Laura and whispers, "What were you doing last night that made you so tired?"

"I was helping Aralie and Seira decorate for an after-production party. We're heading over to the reception hall right after the movie," says Laura in a very quiet voice, "We were having so much fun that we lost all track of time."

Travis takes Laura's hand and squeezes it gently. He whispers into Laura's ear, "Go ahead and sleep. Rest well. I'll take you to see the movie on Sunday after it hits the regular theaters. Otherwise, you won't be able to enjoy the party."

"Thank you, Travis," whispers Laura leaning up against him and closing her eyes.

Travis smiles at Laura as he moves her hand from his left to his right. He wraps his left arm around behind her back so that her head slides down to rest on his chest.

Kana glances towards Laura and Travis. She smiles and leans up against Roberto.

Roberto blushes as he places his arm around Kana.

* * *

'This is a really great movie!' exclaims Dexter sitting on the rafter with the other hamsters.

'And we haven't even gotten to the best part yet!' exclaims Cherry Blossom.

'The part where the Ham-people meet the Ham-Hams!' exclaim all the hamsters.

'Ookwee! Ookwee!' exclaims Penelope.

'Penelope is just the cutest little ham-baby!' exclaims Nene, 'Doesn't it just make you wish you had one of your own, Snoop?'

Snoop swallows hard. 'Uh… whatever you say, Nene!'

Bijou and Pashmina giggle.

(Movie scene)

Aralie runs up to Laura and Travis by the water fountain. "Princess! Ham-Princess Rinni! I think we're in trouble here!"

"What kind of trouble, Ham-Guard Misao?" asks Laura turning quickly towards Aralie.

"Oh, I don't know! Let's see! There's this giant dragon coming straight towards us!" exclaims Aralie panting slightly, "And the Ham-Mage Aoshi is injured! The Ham-Priestess Kari is trying to heal her now! I don't know if they'll be done in time! Wise-Ham Eiji and Ham-Elderwoman Yuriko are both trying everything they can think of to stop the dragon, and none of it's working! Ham-Wizard Kasume is casting every spell he knows, and the Ham-Priest Kyo won't stop praying!"

"Well, then what do we do? Oh, if only we had managed to find the Ham-Prince Syaoran in time! Surely he could lead us to victory!" exclaims Laura looking down at the locket around her neck, "Hey…! Oh! What is this? Look at the Locket of the Hams! The Prince must be near! But where? Who? Ham-Guard Misao! Look! The light from the Locket of the Hams!"

"I see it!" exclaims Aralie with wide eyes.

"It's highlighting him!" exclaims Laura staring at Travis as the light surrounds him, "The peasant boy we rescued yesterday!"

"I see it! Ham-Princess Rinni!"

"What does this mean, Ham-Princess Rinni?" asks Travis.

Laura holds out both her hands as if she were going to step forward and hug Travis. "Locket of the Hams! By the Power of the Ham-Star! For the safety of the Ham-Kingdom! Empower and transform the Ham-Prince Syaoran!"

The light encompasses Travis and changes his clothing into a rich purple tunic with blue pants and a chain mail shirt covering his clothes. A gold crown rests on his head and on his hand rests a shining shield with a ruby encrusted in the center.

"What?" asks Travis in surprise, "What exactly just happened here?"

"There's not time to explain!" says Aralie dropping down onto one knee, "We need your help, Ham-Prince Syaoran!"

"Okay… I have no idea what's going on, but whatever!" exclaims Travis holding his shield ready to defend himself, "Sure, I'll help you! Now… uh, what do I do?"

"You need the sword!" exclaims Aralie standing quickly.

"What sword?" asks Travis looking at Aralie desperately.

"I have it!" exclaims Laura quickly looking at Travis. She touches her chest with both her hands.

"Where?" asks Travis looking over Laura's body with raised eyebrows.

Laura blushes. "It's inside me! It's a magical sword and my body is its sheath! If you are truly the Ham-Prince Syaoran, then you must call out the name of the sword! The hilt will then appear!"

"Well, what's the name of the sword!" exclaims Travis.

"You're supposed to know that!" exclaims Aralie, "Quickly, Ham-Prince Syaoran! We haven't much time! I'm going to hold off the dragon! If I die, you must protect the Ham-Princess Rinni! You must protect her!" She turns the hilt of her sword and slides the twin swords apart before she runs away.

"I need to call out the name of a sword and I don't even know it?" asks Travis staring at Laura.

"You don't know?" asks Laura sagging her shoulders. She stares into Travis's eyes.

"Maybe I do!" exclaims Travis stepping towards Laura and taking her shoulders with both hands, "Love's First Kiss!"

Laura gasps as a jewel-encrusted hilt slides out of her chest.

Travis leans closer and kisses Laura's cheek as his right hand grips the hilt and his left remains on Laura's shoulder. He pulls the sword from her chest as he steps back away from her. "I will protect you, Princess Laura."

"My Prince Travis," says Laura, "Be brave. Be careful!"

Laura and Travis run off to fight the dragon that Narcileth rides and controls.

(End movie scene)

Laura sits in between Kana and Travis for the matinee performance of "Fairytale, the Ham Kingdom" that Sunday. Their parents sit in the row behind them.

Travis glances back at Laura's parents as his fingers fidget idly on the armrest that separates Laura's seat from his own. He moves his hand discreetly and clasps Laura's hand.

Laura looks at Travis and smiles.

"Watch the movie… This is the best part," whispers Travis smiling.

(Movie scene)

"The Ham Kingdom is saved," says Kana, "Thanks to my magic!"

"Your magic?" asks Corin, "What about my magic?"

"And my praying!" exclaims Jason.

"The kingdom was saved thanks to all of us," says Meilin.

"Especially the Ham-Prince Syaoran and Ham-Princess Rinni!" exclaims Kana smiling at Travis and Laura who stand holding hands.

"Now it's time for the marriage ceremony, since Prince Travis and Princess Laura have finally found each other," says Meilin.

Travis looks at Laura. He smiles. "That sounds wonderful."

Everyone hurries into the temple where Meilin and Jason conduct the wedding ceremony.

Travis and Laura hug and kiss each other's cheeks.

(End movie scene)

The words "The End" appear on the screen.

"That was great, pumpkin!" exclaims Laura's dad.

Everyone stands up and heads out of the theater.

"Come on, Travis, we'll give you a ride home," says Kana's dad.

"I'd rather walk… if you don't mind," says Travis blushing, "It's such a nice day. I was going to cut through the park. Do you think Kana and Laura could come with me? It isn't too far from your houses."

"All right," says Kana's mom, "I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Go ahead, girls," says Laura's mom, "Be home soon."

Travis walks off with Kana and Laura. They walk into the park and breathe in the mixed scent of all the flowers and trees.

"Kana," whispers Travis, "Do you think you could give Laura and I a few minutes alone?"

Kana nods. "I'm going to go pick some flowers. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'll grab some for you too, Laura!"

"Kana?" asks Laura as Kana runs off, "What was that about?"

"I asked her to go," says Travis blushing.

"Really?" Laura looks at Travis and blushes.

_**I'm by your side…**_

Travis grabs Laura's shoulders with both hands and pulls her close to him. He leans in and kisses her lips quickly. He backs away from her and smiles. "I like you."

"I… I like you," says Laura smiling at Travis.

"Great! Well… great! I have to get home though," says Travis, "I'll see you in school on Monday, right?"

"Yes! Monday! Great!" exclaims Laura.

"Oh… one more thing though… before I go home," says Travis, "Would you go steady with me?"

"Yes!" exclaims Laura happily, "Of course!"

Travis smiles. "Great! I have to go now!"

"I'll see you in school," says Laura.

Travis kisses Laura quickly, once again on her soft lips, and hurries off.

Kana comes running up with a handful of flowers. "Did he just do what I think I just saw him do?"

Laura blushes a deep red. "He kissed me and asked me to go steady!"

"What did you say?" asks Kana quickly.

"Yes…" Laura smiles happily.

The end.


End file.
